Rock'n'roll is sixty

[GoogaMooga]

They said that rock'n'roll wouldn't last, and here we are, sixty years later...

Hey, hey, my, my, rock'n'roll will never die...  

Sixty glorious years this year since Fats Domino invented R&B/Rock'n'Roll:

from http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_timeline-r1.html

1950  

Fats Domino's first record "The Fat Man" ushers in the full-fledged rock sound.


The Johnny Otis Rhythm & Blues Caravan takes the R&B show on the road scoring ten Top Ten hits that year, three of them chart toppers, with such vocalists as 14 year old Little Esther, Mel Walker and the Robins.


The R&B ballad takes shape with huge smashes in that style by Ivory Joe Hunter, Percy Mayfield and Laurie Tate which bring about a much needed versatility in the emerging music.


Arkie Shibley & His Mountain Dew Boys record "Hot Rod Race" sets the stage for white country music to meet rhythm & blues in a term to be known as rockabilly in the future.


Atlantic Records scores its first #1 record in the decade it would come to define musically with Ruth Brown's "Teardrops From My Eyes", the biggest R&B hit for a female artist for the next 40 years.

"Johnny B. Goode" is fully deserving of first place ranking, it is the anthem of rock'n'roll and probably the most performed rock'n'roll song of all.

from http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_songs50s.html

Criteria: - Songs listed are from Rock and Roll and related sub-genres. These songs are ranked based upon their initial and lasting popularity, as well as their influence & impact on the evolution of Rock 'n' Roll and its sub-genres.

100 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Songs of the '50s

1. Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry
  2. Jailhouse Rock - Elvis Presley
  3. Rock Around The Clock - Bill Haley & His Comets
  4. Tutti-Frutti - Little Richard
  5. Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On - Jerry Lee Lewis
  6. What'd I Say - Ray Charles
  7. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
  8. Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
  9. Long Tall Sally - Little Richard
10. That'll Be The Day - Buddy Holly & the Crickets
11. Maybellene - Chuck Berry
12. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
13. Shake, Rattle And Roll - Joe Turner
14. Blue Suede Shoes - Carl Perkins
15. Don't Be Cruel - Elvis Presley
16. Bye Bye Love - Everly Brothers
17. Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis
18. Earth Angel - Penguins
19. Why Do Fools Fall In Love - Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers
20. Good Golly Miss Molly - Little Richard
21. Be-Bop-A-Lula - Gene Vincent & the Bluecaps
22. School Day - Chuck Berry
23. Rock And Roll Music - Chuck Berry
24. Peggy Sue - Buddy Holly
25. Lawdy Miss Clawdy - Lloyd Price
26. Lucille - Little Richard
27. Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry
28. In The Still Of The Nite - Five Satins
29. I Only Have Eyes For You - Flamingos
30. For Your Precious Love - Jerry Butler & the Impressions
31. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
32. Please, Please, Please - James Brown & the Famous Flames
33. Sh-Boom - Chords
34. Money Honey - Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter
35. I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
36. Fever - Little Willie John
37. The Great Pretender - Platters
38. Ain't It A Shame - Fats Domino
39. That's All Right - Elvis Presley with Scotty and Bill
40. Your Cheatin' Heart - Hank Williams
41. Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry
42. The Train Kept-A-Rollin - Johnny Burnette Trio
43. Come Go With Me - Del-Vikings
44. Let The Good Times Roll - Shirley & Lee
45. Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley
46. Rip It Up - Little Richard
47. Rocking Pneumonia & the Boogie Woogie Flu - Huey "Piano" Smith & the Clowns
48. Pledging My Love - Johnny Ace
49. Sixty Minute Man - Dominoes
50. Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston
51. Yakety Yak - Coasters
52. All Shook Up - Elvis Presley
53. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two
54. Searchin' - Coasters
55. You Send Me - Sam Cooke
56. Mack The Knife - Bobby Darin
57. Wake Up Little Susie - Everly Brothers
58. Susie Q - Dale Hawkins
59. La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
60. Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite - Spaniels
61. I've Got A Woman - Ray Charles
62. I'm Walkin' - Fats Domino
63. There Goes My Baby - Drifters
64. Shout - Isley Brothers
65. White Christmas - Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter
66. Keep A 'Knockin' - Little Richard
67. Kansas City - Wilbert Harrison
68. Poison Ivy - Coasters
69. Since I Don't Have You - Skyliners
70. Jambalaya (On The Bayou) - Hank Williams
71. Money - Barrett Strong
72. Speedoo - Cadillacs
73. Rumble - Link Wray
74. Lonely Teardrops - Jackie Wilson
75. Hang Up My Rock And Roll Shoes - Chuck Willis
76. Sea Cruise - Frankie Ford
77. Rave On - Buddy Holly
78. Work With Me Annie - Hank Ballard & the Midnighters
79. Shake, Rattle And Roll - Bill Haley & His Comets
80. Sincerely - Moonglows
81. Crying In The Chapel - Sonny Til & the Orioles
82. Story Untold - Nutmegs
83. My Babe - Little Walter
84. At My Front Door - El Dorados
85. Gee - Crows
86. Matchbox - Carl Perkins
87. C.C. Rider - Chuck Willis
88. Only You - Platters
89. All I Have To Do Is Dream - Everly Brothers
90. Send Me Some Lovin' - Little Richard
91. At The Hop - Danny & the Juniors
92. Little Darlin' - Diamonds
93. Rock-in Robin - Bobby Day
94. Honky Tonk - Bill Doggett
95. Blue Monday - Fats Domino
96. Jim Dandy - Lavern Baker
97. Reelin And Rocking - Chuck Berry
98. Rebel Rouser - Duane Eddy
99. Love Potion No. 9 - Clovers
100. Chantilly Lace - Big Bopper

[Rocker]

I can't understand how and why people always seem to need something they can put their fingers on. Everyone who's a little bit interested in Rock'n'Roll should know that there is no first rock'n'roll-song, it was a style that developed and was basically a product of black and white music (to simplify it) getting nearer and nearer to each other. Well before 1950 there were lots of recording of stuff like Fats' "Fat man". But I guess since the 60s blues-revival, people are more interested in history than the music itself, although the history would be so much clearer and easier to reconstruct if one would listen to the records and understand the music.

Oh and that Fats Domino song is called "Ain't that a shame"

[Jay]

Fats Domino invented Rock and Roll? Sorry, but whoever said that is way off. What about Rock The Joint(1949) by Jimmy Preston? Rocket 88(1951) by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats?  Or Trucking Little Women(1938) by Big Bill Broonzy. Drinkin' Wine Spo Dee O Dee came out in 1947. The list goes on and on. Even Crossroad Blues(1936) by Robert Johnson is a little to "uptempo" to be considered strictly a "blues" song.